30,000 uninsured vehicles on the roads

By George Psyllides

An estimated 30,000 vehicles on the road are without insurance, officials said on Friday, warning that it was a phenomenon that directly affected road safety.

“The economic situation but also human irresponsibility constitute the factors for the rise,” said Marios Stavrou, chairman of REACTION Youth for Prevention, a non-profit organisation. “Driving uninsured vehicles is taking alarming proportions in recent years and is certainly a phenomenon that directly affects the levels of road safety in our country.”

Stavrou said there were 772,000 registered vehicles in 2012, meaning that one in 25 was without insurance.

And collisions involving uninsured vehicles were increasing. In 2012, authorities recorded 806 incidents involving uninsured vehicles.

The majority of those involved drivers under 25 – 32.1 per cent.

It was followed by the 41 to 50 age group – 17.7 per cent.

Limassol has been in the lead between 2008 and 2014, having the most collisions involving uninsured cars, 39.1 per cent. It is followed closely by Nicosia with 38.5 per cent.

On Friday, REACTION embarked on an information campaign in a bid to properly inform people on the consequences of driving without insurance.

“The need for properly informing the public, especially the youths, is considered urgent,” Stavrou said.

The campaign ends on August 31.

 

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